Because of its position, Princes Bridge is often a focal point for celebratory events in Melbourne such as the Moomba Festival, New Years Eve and many celebrations taking place on the Yarra River where it flows through the city.

Contents

The 1850 bridge appears in this sketch of a paddlesteamer gondola on its way to Cremorne Gardens in 1855.

The foundation stone of Princes Bridge, Melbourne, Australia. It reads: The Foundation Stone of this bridge was laid on 7 September 1886 by Mrs Amelia Henderson Stewart wife of The Right Worshipful The Mayor Of Melbourne James Cooper Stewart. Hon. John Nimmo Commissioner Of Public Works. David Munro Contractor.

When the first European settlers settled in Melbourne in 1835 there was no permanent crossing point of the Yarra River. Over time various punt and ferry operators set up business to ferry people and other traffic across the river. The colonial government in Sydney was unreliable in providing funds for the construction of a bridge, resulting in most of Melbourne’s early infrastructure being provided by private enterprise. On 22 April 1840, a private company was formed to construct a bridge across the Yarra. Traders in Elizabeth Street vied with those in Swanston Street to have the through traffic that would be generated by a bridge. On the south bank of the river, St Kilda Road was still a dirt track.

Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe favoured an Elizabeth Street crossing, but despite such official pressure the private company favoured the construction conditions at Swanston Street, which had become regarded as the growing town's main street. It was on that street in 1840 that they opened their wooden toll bridge. In 1844, a wooden trestle bridge was built across the river, and was a toll bridge.[2]

The foundation stone for a new bridge was laid in 1846 and the bridge was opened in 1851. The bridge was a single span 150 ft (46 m) bluestone and granite arch bridge, with a rise of only 24 ft (7 m).[3] and was at the time, one of the longest, flattest stone arch bridges in the world. Built with government funds, the bridge was designed by David Lennox.[2] It was opened on 15 November without tolls. It was known as Lennox’s Bridge.[4]

However, within a year, gold was discovered in country Victoria and Melbourne saw a massive increase in population. In addition to the increase in traffic crossing the bridge, there was also a need to handle increased shipping traffic on the Yarra River and the river was widened to cope with this. By that time the Yarra River had been heavily modified both upstream and downstream and the major floods of the early years were becoming less common. The new bridge was designed by John Grainger (1855–1917),[5]:p.3 the father of the Australian composer Percy Grainger, and built by David Munro using ironwork fabricated by Langlands foundry in Melbourne. Construction on the new bridge began in 1886 and it was opened on 4 October 1888, in time for the second International Exhibition to be held in Melbourne. As with many historic Melburnian buildings and bridges, the bridge is built on solid bluestone bulwarks with plenty of cast iron. The bridge was named Prince's Bridge, after Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII).[6] In 1924,the bridge was reinforced to take the weight of the electric trams which were soon to replace the previous cable trams along St Kilda Road and the side-streets. The name of the bridge was then changed to Princes Bridge.

Pedestrians account for the majority of traffic over the bridge, but other forms of traffic include motor vehicles, trams, buses and bicycles, as well as an occasional horse- drawn carriage. The destination of pedestrian traffic is two way - commuters going to work in the CBD as well as visitors to the Melbourne Arts Precinct on the Southbank side.

Princes Bridge was also the name of a railway station located on the northern side of the river, to the east of the bridge, on the current site of Federation Square. It was linked to Flinders Street Station by the railway tracks that run underneath the northern approach to the bridge.

Princes Bridge is 30 metres (99 ft) wide and 120 metres (400 ft) long, with Harcourt granite squat half columns resting on the bluestone piers that support the three iron girder arch spans. The coat of arms on the bridge belong to the municipal councils who contributed towards the cost of construction. Other design features include an elaborate balustrade along the top of the bridge, and lamp standards crowning each pier.[6]

The bridge design bears a close resemblance to the earlier Blackfriars Bridge over the Thames River in London, which was completed in 1869. Princes Bridge is wider, 99 ft compared with 80 ft, but with 3 spans of 100 ft and an overall length of 400 ft it is much shorter that Blackfriars Bridge's 5 spans with its central span of 185 ft. Both are excellent surviving examples of Arch Bridge design in the late 19th century.